Charles Richard Collier (1885–1954)[1] of Plumstead, London, was a British motorcycle racer famous for winning Isle of Man TT races twice in his career. After competing in the 1906 International Cup Races on the European continent, Charlie Collier became the first Isle of Man TT race winner in 1907.
Charlie Collier
Collier at the start of the 1913 ISDT motorcycle trial event
Along with his brother Harry[2] he raced Matchless motorcycles manufactured by his father's company, H.Collier & Sons.
After setting a number of world motorcycle records on Matchless machines, Charlie Collier won another Isle of Man TT race in 1910 and later became the first competitor to be disqualified from a race for illegal refuelling. Charlie Collier later became a joint managing director of AJS and Matchless motorcycles and died in 1954.[3]
First race was in 1902 at the 3½ mile Canning Town cycling track riding a Matchless motorcycle with an MMC engine. After leading until the last lap, a burst tyre caused a crash and Charlie Collier suffered friction abrasions. In 1905, along with his brother Harry Collier participated in the eliminating trial for the International Motor Cycle Cup held in the Isle of Man. Held on a 25-mile section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course, the event was won by J.S.Campbell. Although Harry Collier managed to qualify, the Matchless motorcycle with a JAP engine which Charlie Collier had specially built suffered a broken connecting-rod and was forced to retire.
After racing in the 1906 International Cup, both Charlie Collier and his brother Harry were unhappy with the relatively low imposed weight limit of 110 lbs, causing sacrifices in frame and tyre strength to be made to compensate for the heavy engines.[2]
They entered a new motorcycle event in the Isle of Man in 1907 for road-touring motorcycles. The new race was to be held on the St John's Short Course with two categories for single and twin-cylinder engines. The 1907 Isle of Man TT race single cylinder-class was won by Charlie Collier riding a Matchless in 4 hours, 8 minutes and 8 seconds at an average race speed of 38.21 mph. His brother Harry Collier, also riding a Matchless, had problems with an engine seizure on lap 2 and eventually retired on lap 9.[4]
TT race achievements
TT Single Cylinder race
Tuesday 28 May 1907 - 10 laps (158.00 miles) St John's Short Course.
charlie, collier, basketball, player, charli, collier, other, people, named, charles, collier, charles, collier, disambiguation, charles, richard, collier, 1885, 1954, plumstead, london, british, motorcycle, racer, famous, winning, isle, races, twice, career, . For the basketball player see Charli Collier For other people named Charles Collier see Charles Collier disambiguation Charles Richard Collier 1885 1954 1 of Plumstead London was a British motorcycle racer famous for winning Isle of Man TT races twice in his career After competing in the 1906 International Cup Races on the European continent Charlie Collier became the first Isle of Man TT race winner in 1907 Charlie CollierCollier at the start of the 1913 ISDT motorcycle trial eventNationalityEnglishBorn1883Died1954 aged 70 71 Motorcycle racing career statisticsIsle of Man TT careerTTs contested8 1907 1914 TT wins2First TT win1907 Single Cylinder TTLast TT win1910 500 Single and 750 Twin TTTT podiums3Along with his brother Harry 2 he raced Matchless motorcycles manufactured by his father s company H Collier amp Sons After setting a number of world motorcycle records on Matchless machines Charlie Collier won another Isle of Man TT race in 1910 and later became the first competitor to be disqualified from a race for illegal refuelling Charlie Collier later became a joint managing director of AJS and Matchless motorcycles and died in 1954 3 Contents 1 Racing career 2 TT race achievements 2 1 TT Single Cylinder race 2 2 TT Race Victories 2 3 TT career summary 3 Sources 4 External linksRacing career EditFirst race was in 1902 at the 3 mile Canning Town cycling track riding a Matchless motorcycle with an MMC engine After leading until the last lap a burst tyre caused a crash and Charlie Collier suffered friction abrasions In 1905 along with his brother Harry Collier participated in the eliminating trial for the International Motor Cycle Cup held in the Isle of Man Held on a 25 mile section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course the event was won by J S Campbell Although Harry Collier managed to qualify the Matchless motorcycle with a JAP engine which Charlie Collier had specially built suffered a broken connecting rod and was forced to retire After racing in the 1906 International Cup both Charlie Collier and his brother Harry were unhappy with the relatively low imposed weight limit of 110 lbs causing sacrifices in frame and tyre strength to be made to compensate for the heavy engines 2 They entered a new motorcycle event in the Isle of Man in 1907 for road touring motorcycles The new race was to be held on the St John s Short Course with two categories for single and twin cylinder engines The 1907 Isle of Man TT race single cylinder class was won by Charlie Collier riding a Matchless in 4 hours 8 minutes and 8 seconds at an average race speed of 38 21 mph His brother Harry Collier also riding a Matchless had problems with an engine seizure on lap 2 and eventually retired on lap 9 4 TT race achievements EditTT Single Cylinder race Edit Tuesday 28 May 1907 10 laps 158 00 miles St John s Short Course Position Number Rider Team Speed Time1 4 Charlie Collier 3 hp Matchless 38 21 mph 4 08 08 22 2 Jack Marshall 3 hp Triumph 36 60 4 19 47 33 1 Frank Hulbert 3 hp Triumph 35 50 4 27 49 4TT Race Victories Edit Year Race amp Capacity Motorcycle Average Speed1907 Single Cylinder Matchless 38 21 mph1910 500 cc Single amp 750 cc Twin Cylinder Matchless 50 63 mphTT career summary Edit Finishing Position 1st 2nd 4th DNFNumber of times 2 1 1 4Sources Edit England and Wales Births Deaths marriages Retrieved 2014 02 26 a b Carrick Peter Motor Cycle Racing Hamlyn Publishing 1969 p 17 p 21 ISBN 0 600 02506 3 Accessed 2014 02 26 TT Special 1953 edited by G S Davison page 22 The Motor Cycle dated 5 June 1907 p 446External links EditTT database rider profile permanent dead link iomtt com TT database TT results permanent dead link iomtt com Official TT Website Database iomttraces com0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charlie Collier amp oldid 1115924758, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
